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JDP senior Nicholas

JDP senior Nicholas has worked hard to find the balance of being a scholar athlete.  He attends Career tech for their engineering program which he loves.  “It doesn’t feel like school,” he told me.  The environment is one in which kids can thrive and find other like minded kids to design and create in ways the traditional classroom does not allow.  It’s a sweet spot for so many kids and has helped affirm for Nicholas that he would like to be an engineer.  It has helped to pave the path for acceptance into a highly competitive University of MD engineering camp that he had plans to attend…until Covid caused it’s cancellation.

Nicholas has played soccer since he was 4.  Currently Nicholas plays for South Carroll and his club team is FC Frederick.  He’s a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.  I actually met Nicholas and his family years ago when our boys all played soccer together under the leadership of a blast for a coach, John Neubert.  We all had so much fun together and I got to know what a great kid Nicholas was in every encounter I had with him.  It was such a pleasure to cross paths with the Mertz family again!  Lesley, his mom, has been mentally planning his senior portraits with me for many years now!  She embraced every moment of this process in quiet awe that was beautiful to behold.

What Lesley (or any of us for that matter) didn’t plan on was the pouring rain that accompanied Nicholas’s session.  It’s rare that we have to reschedule, because we can usually sneak out between showers, but occasionally it’s unavoidable.  As my studio manager and I drove to the South Carroll fields a light rain grew into a pounding rain storm.  The session was looking very unlikely, until we arrived at the fields and we noticed it was reducing in intensity dramatically.

Lo and behold, the rain came to an almost stop and we stormed the fields of South Carroll like the beaches of Normandy!  Go, go, go before it starts again!  Nicholas rolled with it all like a pro!

Nicholas was game to create an epic water portrait–these may be my favorite creations for our athletes this year!  And of course what kid doesn’t want to get pelted with water?!?

Nicholas, like 99% of teenage boys I meet, is a gamer.  Brawl Stars is his favorite and he was super pumped to be able to get it at first release.  As a mom of boys, we all know this look and the intensity of how our boys approach their gaming!

Nicholas has been an avid reader his whole life.  Science fiction, fantasy and mystery are the stories that have intrigued him the most. 

We represented his Cavaliers soccer experience at South Carroll where he’s made his highschool memories with his mom and dad for the last 3 years cheering him on and then gave representation to his travel Club team in studio.

I’m really loving what we are creating for our athletes and dancers in studio with this new stroboscopic technique!

Nicholas, as a scholar athlete you have found a wonderful balance in your priorities to take care of business on and off the field while being a wonderful friend and kid who people love to be around in life!  Your smile lights up every room you enter and your mom’s heart skips at the thought of the young man you have grown into.  May your next steps be filled with adventure and pay off for all your hard work!

  1. Joanne McNeill says:

    What a fabulous photo display and the verbal comments really told the story of Nicholas. Looks like he has a marvelous engineering future to look forward to. I hope his senior year is as fulfilling as this tribute has been. I know the whole family is proud.

  2. Shelly Tribett says:

    These are amazing shots of an amazing young man that is one of my sons best friends. We love Nicholas and his family, and you could not have represented them any better. Fantastic job. ❤️

  3. Leslie says:

    Shelly, thank you! That means so much. The feeling is mutual. ♥️

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